Reserves Recap: RSL 0-0 Phoenix FC

Big crowd of 8,263 sees wild match end in a scoreless draw

April 22, 2013

RSL Communications

RealSaltLake.com

SANDY, Utah –The Real Salt Lake Reserves (2-1-2, 8 points, West #1) played USL Pro side Phoenix FC to a wild scoreless draw in front of a great crowd of 8,263 at Rio Tinto Stadium in MLS Reserve League play on Monday night.

Three players – Phoenix FC GK Andrew Weber and DF Renan Boueflour and Real Salt Lake DF Kwame Watson-Siriboe – were shown straight red cards and ejected from the game in first half stoppage time for their role in a melee. The scrum started just outside the Phoenix box following a RSL set play and involved numerous players from both sides.

RSL put Phoenix FC under siege following the ejections, holding a huge possession advantage and registering 24 total shots against the nine-man minor-league club. Despite that, the Claret-and-Cobalt couldn’t tally a winner, struggling to find any openings near goal against the bunkered-in Phoenix defense.

“It’s disappointing,” RSL Reserves Head Coach Jeff Cassar said after the match. “You get the fan support that we had – and we wanted it to be a special night – and we just didn’t come out with the energy we needed. [Phoenix FC] wanted it, their players all want our players’ jobs and they played hungrier than we did and that’s sad because we had a great crowd out there and we wanted to put on a good performance for them.”

Real Salt Lake did come close to scoring on several occasions. MF Khari Stephenson had a good look in the first half, ripping a 40-yard free kick toward the bottom right corner that Weber blocked in the 27th minute. Substitute MF David Viana had a decent chance almost immediately after coming on in the 65th, driving a low shot from 25 yards just wide of the left post.

RSL’s best look came in the 67th minute, when DF Carlos Salcedo collected a ball left of center and let fly from 20 yards, rocketing his driven shot inches over the crossbar at the top right corner. Viana had another long-range shot go wide in the 68th and Stephenson had a booming drive tipped out for a corner by substitute GK Sheldon Parkinson in the 79th. RSL pushed hard for a goal in the closing minutes of the match, but couldn’t quite find the elusive winner.

Monday’s game was a part of the groundbreaking partnership announced by MLS and USL Pro earlier this year. As part of the partnership, each MLS side that isn’t directly affiliated with a USL Pro club will play a home-and-home Reserve League series against a team from the third-division league. The RSL Reserves will travel to Arizona for this series’ return leg at Phoenix FC on June 15 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.

The Claret-and-Cobalt will return to MLS regular season action this Saturday, when it will host Western Conference rival L.A. Galaxy at 7:00 p.m. MT at Rio Tinto Stadium. A limited number of tickets are still available to Saturday’s match and can be purchased at the Rio Tinto Stadium box office, online at www.RealSaltLake.com/Tickets or over the phone at 801-727-2700.

The RSL Reserves’ next game is on Sunday against the L.A. Galaxy Reserves. Sunday’s Reserve League match will kickoff at 11:00 a.m. MT at America First Field in Sandy and will be free to the public.